Biblical Theology Core Seminar—13 Weeks

What Is Biblical Theology?

1. Defining the TopicWeek 1

2. Defining the Tools Week 2

The Stories to be Told: Biblical Theology Displayed

3. Kingdom Through CovenantWeek 3

4. Eden to New Jerusalem Week 4

5. People of GodWeek 5

6. SacrificeWeek 6

7. MissionWeek 7

8. PromiseWeek 8

9. LoveWeek 9

Putting the Text to Work

10. Old Testament Example 1Week 10

11. Old Testament Example 2Week 11

12. New Testament Example 1Week 12

13. New Testament Example 2 Week 13

Teachers contact:

Jonathan Leeman()

Sebastian Traeger()

Justin Sok()

Biblical Theology Core Seminar

Class 2:Defining the Tools

We’re going to rummage through two different tool boxes pull a few out one at a time, look at them, and figure out what they do.

I. Tool Box # 1: Exegetical Tools

Meaning is not just a property of words, it’s a property of sentences and paragraphs.

Exegesis is the disciplined attempt to lead out of a text the author’s original intent, rather than one’s own preference or experience or opinion. Jerome, an early church father put it this way: “The office of a commentator is to set forth not what he himself would prefer, but what his author says.”

A. Tool # 1: The Grammatical-Historical Method

B. Tool # 2: Literary Form

Test case: Psalm 143:12

“And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies. And you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant.”

II. Tool Box # 2: Storyline Tools

A. The Key Is to Look Back and then Look Forward

B. Theme

C. Covenant

What is a covenant? “A solemn commitment, guaranteeing promises or obligations undertaken by one or both covenanting parties, sealed with an oath.” Paul Williamson

D. Promise-Fulfillment

E. Typology

To say something is a “type” of something else in the Bible means that you are asserting that some event, person, or institution is organically connected by God’s intent to something else so that the first things helps us to interpret and understand the second thing.

For example, Romans 5:14: “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”

F. Continuity and Discontinuity